Hi Guys, new to group, name's Bob aka FX, hope you can help before I rip out all my hair.. I have a 2003 chevy C1500 suburban LT flex. New battery went dead in a couple days. Checked currant draw in series with the neg. Bat cable, and showed 3 amp draw With everything off, 4 amps with radio on. Started pulling fuses, and the [radio] was the only fuse that stopped the draw. The only reference I have for now is the owners manual. I have a Chilton coming. It has the Bose sound system in it that works well with fuse in...There's a separate fuse for only the [radio amp]. that fuse in or out doesn't make a difference. It must be the radio fuse that's pulled to stop the 3 amp draw, that my owners manual shows only feeds the radio.. It Does have OS (OnStar) that I know is related to the radio, but I pulled the OS too, no change...What do you guys think? has anyone had a similar problem?
FX

 

Were there any accessories added that may have been wired to the battery fuse?

 

[QUOTE=oldchevy;447493]Were there any accessories added that may have been wired to the battery fuse?[/QUOTE

no accessories added to radio circuit, but good point. When radio fuse is in, radio works fine, but draws 4 amps, that means the radio is using one amp above the 3 amp draw with radio off. Pull fuse, and reading is .88, which is about right for this truck

 

Damn, I'm loosing it man, in my chronologically challenged years...

I forgot to say that this 3 amp draw is with the radio unplugged and out of the truck also. In, or out, same 3 amp draw unless I pull the fuse... This may indicate a dead short in the wiring to the radio, But you'd think that a short like that would be big enough to blow the fuse, but it's only a 3 amp draw through a 15 amp fuse. I have never seen a dead short not blowing fuses... With radio out, and fuse out, no extra draw, fuse in, 3 amp draw. I'm waiting for a service manual that I just ordered, to get here to see how the radio is linked to the OnStar...I pulled the fuse that runs OS, and rear climate control, no difference...I will check for bare wires to radio meanwhile... The only thing that my owners manual says that's on that fuse circuit is the radio...................Any thoughts?
FX

 

Well, it's not a dead short. With the radio connector off the radio, check the voltage at the pin, compare that to battery voltage, if it's drawing current it will be low at that point. Next step is to physically track the wire.

 

Well, I just started to unwrap the tape from the bigger of the 2 harness in the dash that plug into the radio..Then about 3 inches down from the plug I came to 4 strands of thin bare wire. I commenced unwrapping more harness, and bare strands continued down about 5 inches more so far, then I had to come inside, my hands got too cold to work...So far I didn't spot any split insulated wires that these strands would have came from. The strands of bare wire were not wrapped around the harness. I thought they may have wrapped the harness at the factory with these to hold the wires together so they could tape them. That don't make any sense at all why they would do that. The strands were straight along the harness...At this point I checked for the 3 amp draw with the fuse in and It's down from the 3 amp draw to 1.7. So I think I'm on the right track...Next warmer day I'll unwrap the harness more, and hope I find something before it goes down behind an inner panel. But the great mystery is why now? what happened? the truck's been fine since I bought it last July...
FX